108.
Carlton Restaurant 高樂大餐廳 Each year, the first quarter is the most difficult time for restaurants even before the worldwide credit crisis and economic meltdown. On Silom/Sathorn (Road) this year, the challenge raises. There are a lot of restaurants dotted around the Central Business District (C.B.D.) that are beneficiaries to the culture of expense account dining now suffer; as, companies cutting entertainment expenses and employees with little job security dwindling the spending on meals. Today the best selling lunch option among Silom/Sathorn white-collars maybe Mama instant noodles.
I see the closure of restaurants on a weekly basis. The glory of Silom/Sathorn restaurants bloom is fading into memory!
Grandmas like to talk about the old good days they spent at the Carlton Restaurant. True that Carlton did draw Bangkokians lots of memories. Whether you are grandmas in your 80's, you are daddy and mammy in your 50's, you are big brother in your 30's, or kids like me (don't laugh!) in our 20's; we all spent a tremendous happiness moment celebrated our birthdays, graduation parties, promotion parties, anniversaries, proposing, friends gathering or just after-school hang-out at Carlton.
Opened in the 60's, Carlton was the first high-class Thai cum French restaurant on Silom Road and almost an institution in the unique, famous or infamous Hong-Kong-style-Western-cuisine culture in Thailand following the trend of Western food bloom from Hong Kong. As the pioneer in foreign cuisine adjusted to the Thais palate, Carlton maintains its unique culinary characteristic for years.
In my memory, Carlton’s Rock Lobster Thermidor (Baht 495++) served with lots of lobster meat and rich in Parmesan cheese with sherry and bechamel sauce stuffed into a rock lobster shell, baked. This French dish since 1894 was one of Carlton's popular dishes. The Fondue set (Baht 550++), consisting of tender beef, pork and chicken cubes, fresh salmon and vegetables with the running oil dip always steal the show. The French Onion Soup (Baht 120++) with caramelized onions, reduced beef stock covered with gruyere cheese, baked, was one of my favorite dishes. And my other favorite dish was the Roasted Chicken with Rosemary Sauce (Baht 295++); the chicken was tender and aromatic. Carlton also offered the world cheapest Kobe Beef Steak (Baht 350++); of course for Baht 412 it was not real Kobe beef, but tender enough and good for value. On the Thai menu, what I really appreciated was (only) the Fried Noodle with Shredded Chicken and Chinese Mushroom in Brown Sauce (Baht 250++), probably the most expensive fried chicken noodle in a non-hotel establishment but it was simply delicious.
The last fort of Hong-Kong-style-Western-cuisine presence in Bangkok is completely vanished by the farewell of Carlton on December 31, 2008, giving us a chance of evolution to authentic French cuisine appreciation!!
Our Ratings (1 to 5 the higher the better): Carlton has [3.1]
(Ratings are based on Food, Service and Ambiance, with Price taken into account in relation to Quality) Food =3, Service=3, Ambiance=3, Money Worth=3.5
Details: closed (*Business ceased from 01/Jan/2009 onwards.)
Carlton Restaurant, Sriboonrueng Building, 283 Silom Road, Bangrak, Bangkok 10500, Thailand; Tel.: 02.234.7793
